These antiparticles, or antimatter were discovered in the 1930s and are continuing to be studied and even produced today. Antimatter can be created by smashing two particles together in a machine called a particle accelerator such as the ones at CERN. Scientists at CERN have created 50,000 antihydrogen atoms. The study of antimatter will reach a new level upon the completion of CERN's Large Hadron Collider (or LHC) to be completed in 2007.

Star Trek fans will quickly point out that Enterprise and Voyager are propeled using engines fueled by antimatter. Far from being unrealistic, research at Penn state University and NASA Advanced Space Transportation Program (ASTP) is ongoing in order to create the next generation of thrusters utilizing antimatter.

There are many technical obstacles to be addressed. First, the amount of available antimatter in production is not enough, particle accelerators such as the ones found in Fermilab, close to Chicago, and CERN, in Switzerland, produce somewhere between 1 to 10 nanograms of antimatter annually. The process of production typically involve accelerating protons near the speed of light and slamming it into a metal, such as tungsten. Various subatomic particles are produced by this collision, including antiprotons, the simplest form of antimatter. 71 milligrams of antimatter would provide an equal amount of energy that is provided by space shuttle external tank.

The second obstacle is storage. Antimatter can not be stored in normal containers because it will instantly annihilate once antimatter makes contact with matter. One solution is using Penning Trap, a super cold vacuum using electro magnets in order to suspend particles of antimatter. Antielectrons are difficult to store because of their mass, however, antiprotons are stored much more easily. Antimatter storage reaps several benefits, one of which is O15 production, a radioisotope used for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) of the human brain.